Twelfth Night

'Love is the driving force of the comedy Twelfth Night' How far do you agree with this assesment of the play?

Ultimately, love is the driving force of the comedy simply due to the love triangles created with Orsino, Viola and Olivia.

This would be viewed as comical because Viola is disguised as a man, who falls in love with Orsino who is infatuated with Olivia who eventually falls in love with Viola disguised as Cesario.

Furthermore, in shakespearean time only men were allowed to act, hence Viola wouldve been played by a man. A man playing a women disguised as a man. This creates dramatic irony, hence comedy and an audience would find this funny.

Love creates confusion for the audience due to the disguise and the audience being aware of it whilst the characters aren't - breaking the 4th wall.

There are many forms of love such as sibling love, infatuation, possession etc. Therefore you could explore the relationships between the master and servants eg. Olivia and Maria.

"Like his early comedies, Twelfth Night is essentially a celebration of romantic love and can be seen as a traditional romantic comedy."

Elizabethan romantic comedy, including the devices of mistaken identity, separated twins, and gender-crossing disguise, and its plot revolves around overcoming obstacles to "true" love.